"Let's Go Fishing"  Judy Skaggs

Matthew 4:12-23

The Bible is full of beginnings. Genesis, of course, tells of God speaking all things into existence. There is also the call of Abraham and Sarah to leave home and begin anew. That call would be the beginning of the Hebrew people. The last chapter of Revelation even has a vision of a new heaven and new earth, and the tree of life in the middle of the new Jerusalem.

Our Gospel reading today is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry according to Matthew. Jesus comes preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This seems to be Matthew’s version of the Word made flesh dwelling among us. Jesus’ first sermon is about turning more toward God, and becoming aware and watchful for the kingdom which is so near.

The Bible not only has a lot of beginnings, but also a lot of “call stories” that seem to mesh together - when someone is invited by God into a new beginning, into something unexpected.

So one morning Andrew and Simon Peter, James and John all got up very early when the sky was still dark, and walked down to the water’s edge, and begin to prepare their nets and boats for a typical day of fishing. It was a day like every other day. Nothing special. This is what they did every morning. So, amid these very familiar surroundings of boats and nets, and the smell of the sea, these four men are called to a new beginning.

Jesus came to these fishermen where they were working. In this account we don’t know how much they knew about him. It does not seem to matter. But he comes alongside them and calls out to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”

This call is an invitation, a challenge that somehow captivated their imagination. And they were willing to enter into an adventure that seemed to choose them more than they chose it.

Something was radically different! All the other Rabbis of the time waited for disciples to come to them, to ask to study with them, but Jesus went out in search of disciples, choosing those whom he wanted to be with him.

Were they ready? Were they equipped for this great adventure with Jesus? Jesus did not stop to ask for resumes or to check references. Instead Jesus takes a risk when he calls them, and they in turn take a risk when they immediately follow him.

We know from the stories about the disciples in the Gospels that they were not perfect men. Often they fail to understand who Jesus is or the things that Jesus does and says. But Jesus saw something in them that made him choose these particular people.

Perhaps he had watched them fishing. They could cast the nets out across the waters and bring in all kinds of fish. They knew how to keep the fish that were ready for selling and how to separate out the ones that needed to be tossed back into the sea. They knew how to keep their nets strong and mended, and how to repair their boat so it was always ready for their work. So Jesus calls them to apply the knowledge that they already have to a new task – that of gathering in a new community and of caring for that community.

They had to leave behind some old securities – the boat, their nets, even their families. To answer this call, they had to be willing to walk into a future of not knowing. That may be the most amazing thing about this story. Matthew says that immediately they left their nets and followed him.

Now last week, we heard the call of the disciples from the account in John’s Gospel. And John tells it a bit differently. According to  John, we get the idea that these men knew something about Jesus, especially from John the Baptist. John the Baptist keeps pointing Jesus out to them. And the soon-to-be-disciples go after Jesus and ask him questions. Jesus invites them to “Come and see.”

For me personally, I like John’s version. For when I hear John’s version, I think of the call of Jesus as being something that disciples can explore and ponder. They go after Jesus and he invites them for conversation and some exploration.

I like the fact that we have both these accounts of Jesus calling disciples because my guess is that all of us come to discipleship in different ways. For some of us it is immediate. We are drawn into this adventure and enter without question, but for others, we need to think and seek and take some time with the decision.

In both cases, the invitation is given to follow and to gather others who want to be disciples. At the end of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus final command is to make disciples, to baptize, to teach them everything he has taught.

So what about this instruction of Jesus about fishing for others? Now, I am not much of a fisherperson. The last time I went fishing I was about 9 years old and I fell in the river when my hook got caught on the grass along the bank. My dad had to jump in and pull me out because I could not swim.

My granddad Finnigan was the fisherman in our family. I loved to watch him getting ready for a fishing trip. He went out in the garage and spent hours getting all his equipment ready. I remember the tackle boxes with all those red and white bobbers and the pretty colorful lures. But I just could never identify with his love for the actual fishing.

So I may not be able to think about discipleship as a fisherman. That was the way for Andrew and Peter and James and John to think about it, but they truly were fishermen. But what I see Jesus doing with them is to call them into work that began with what they knew. When Jesus called them to follow, their first task is to fish for people. So he is assuring them that discipling others will not be so different from what they have already been doing.

In so many stories of Jesus’ encounters with individuals, he begins where they are, and then leads them, teaches them, equips them until they become who he needs them to be.

So we too can be assured that Jesus will meet us where we are - that Jesus is willing to take our particular talents and gifts and call us to use them as we work for his kingdom that has come near.

This last week, I was doing some reading for the women’s Lenten study on Christian Vocation. Surprisingly, I found something wonderful on vocation in the Directory for Worship section of the Book of Order. Who would have thought that something on vocation had anything to do with worship and that it would be in the Book of Order? Someone very wise, apparently! Here is what I found under the title Christian Vocation:  “God calls a people (a.) to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, (b.) to follow Jesus Christ in obedient discipleship, (c.) to use gifts and abilities God has given, honoring and serving God in personal life, in household and families, in daily occupations, in community, nation, and world. A person responds to God’s call to faith in Jesus Christ through baptism and through life and worship in the community of faith. Persons respond to God’s call in every aspect of human life; in their work and play, in their thought and action, in their private and public relationships. God hallows daily life, and daily life provides opportunity for holy living. As Christians honor and serve God in daily life, they worship God. Work and worship cannot be separated.”

Friends, we are called to follow Christ in every part of our life. The totally of our life is part of the way we worship and honor God. Our call is to follow Christ as disciples, to use our gifts and abilities to proclaim good news to our world. Christ meets us as we are and calls us into a new beginning again and again.

So take a deep breath, disciples! There is a great adventure waiting. Amen.